Full Focus Limited
P O Box 33489
Takapuna, Auckland
t: 09 489 1650
f: 09 489 1650
David Martin: 0274 902 401
Kathy Martin: 027 2800 564
Recent Focus June 2008
Estimated reading time for this issue: under 5 minutes
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All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!
….. finding the right balance
Month 6 out of 12. We’re in the middle of winter (although looking outside today it’s hard to believe it). For most of us our last good holiday is but a distant memory (some 6 months ago in fact) and it’s perhaps another 6 months before the next one. It’s a good time to remind ourselves about the value of “downtime”.
As a rule of thumb we don’t take as much time off during the middle of the year as we do in summer. The pull is to keep working through the winter (except perhaps if you’re an avid skier … but read on anyway … this is important for you too!). I’m not necessarily talking about serious downtime when you head off on holiday for 2 weeks or so to some exotic (or not so exotic) location. Maybe it’s a time to take more intentional breaks.
As a business owner, the risk is that you seem to be
continuously working … probably long hours. More than likely you carry out a variety of different roles and responsibilities, even if you do have employees. Taking time out of your business can seem impossible. Even if you’re an expert at setting goals and have your time management systems honed to a sharp point – neither of these skills will guarantee less burn-out or more balance.
If you’re a business owner with a (young) family, then sometimes your downtime is by default – weekend sports or other family-related activities. But it’s also important to make sure you do something each week that’s for YOU – something that you enjoy that allows you to relax, something that invigorates and re-energises you for the week a head. And it’s okay to be selfish about it ! Don’t let people encroach on your downtime, or you’ll end up resenting it. It’s OK to say “no”.
Think about this … you’ll be of limited use to your business or your family (not to mention yourself) if you reach burn out point. Take a few minutes to think of the possible fall out. What would it mean to your family? What would it mean to your business? What would it mean to you?
Finding the right balance can be difficult. There’s no right or 
wrong way to do it – it’s different for everybody. One person might devote one whole day a week. It might work better for someone else if it’s scattered throughout the week. This will depend on your priorities, what’s important to you and how it all fits in with your family.
But whatever way you find works for you, make sure you do set the time aside each week. Make an appointment with yourself, for yourself. If something gets in the way that you just can’t avoid, don’t cross off your downtime, re-allocate it to a different time-slot. This appointment may be the most vital one of the week for you, your business and your family! Don’t compromise it.
Remember, to avoid burnout it’s the balance that’s important – work …. rest ….. play.
We’ve been asked about our website by a number of people lately - not because we do websites (because we don't) but because they're interested in the ease with which we seem to manage our website.
So I’m going to put in a little plug here for a fantastic team of people who put together our website – Toast Limited. This print and web design company, based in Takapuna, is headed by a couple of great guys – Alastair and Steve.
They did a superb job of listening to our requirements, making intelligent suggestions to a couple of web-ignoramuses (Dave and moi) … in language we understood no less, and provided us with an impressive, easily managed website.
Not only that, they were great to work with and provided all the initial support I could want. When they said the content management system would be as easy to use as Word, I thought … “yeah, right” (cynical me!) But true to their word – it was !
So if you’re looking for a good web design experience … I wouldn’t go past these guys! You can visit their website at– www.toast.co.nz.
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Read the last issue of recent focus “ Surviving the so-called economic recession.”
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